Amman — The Audit Bureau’s move toward risk-based and continuous auditing appears to be more than an update to oversight tools. It reflects an effort to reshape the way public funds are monitored by moving from examining what has already happened to anticipating what could happen, based on data analysis, artificial intelligence and professional capacity building.
Audit Bureau President Dr. Rady Al-Hamadine said the approach combines professional expertise with modern technology and advanced data analysis to strengthen the ability to anticipate risks and improve institutional performance, rather than simply identifying irregularities after they occur.
As part of this effort, the bureau is expanding risk-based auditing, strengthening continuous auditing practices and using artificial intelligence to analyze data and identify unusual patterns. It is also directing oversight resources toward higher-risk areas to improve the speed of response and accuracy of findings.
These efforts coincide with Al-Hamadine’s announcement that cumulative implementation of the bureau’s 2024–2027 strategic plan has reached around 94%.
The approach forms part of an institutional effort to link performance development with investment in human resources and the development of professional, digital and analytical skills in line with the requirements of modern oversight.
The transformation is not limited to technological tools. It also includes developing the smart oversight platform, strengthening integration between financial, oversight and operational data, improving the quality of reports and developing mechanisms for following up on oversight findings.
This reflects an effort to build a system better able to identify weaknesses at an early stage. However, the key test remains whether these initiatives will help reduce waste, improve public resource management and hold violating entities accountable.
Experts in public administration, constitutional law and the public sector told Al-Ghad that the importance of this transformation lies in shifting oversight from a corrective model that relies heavily on post-event examination to a more proactive approach capable of identifying risk areas, analyzing large volumes of data and detecting unusual patterns.
This can strengthen the ability to identify weaknesses earlier and more efficiently.
The memorandum of understanding with PwC comes within this framework, expanding cooperation in auditing, risk management, data analysis, cybersecurity and capacity building.
However, experts said the value of the partnership will ultimately depend on how effectively the cooperation is translated into practical practices and measurable improvements in the quality of oversight outputs and staff capabilities.
A Shift in the Oversight System
Professor of Administrative Law Dr. Mohammad Al-Ma’aqbeh said Jordan is witnessing a transformation in the system for overseeing public funds, moving from traditional auditing based on post-event examination toward a more proactive approach relying on data analysis and risk forecasting.
He explained that artificial intelligence can enhance auditors’ ability to identify unusual patterns and high-risk transactions, but it cannot replace professional judgment.
Al-Ma’aqbeh stressed that the success of this transformation depends not simply on introducing technology, but also on the availability of reliable data, qualified professionals and integrated systems, as well as the bureau’s ability to turn new tools into actual oversight results.
From a constitutional perspective, Dr. Laith Nasrawin, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Jordan, said developing auditing and risk-management methodologies is consistent with Article 119 of the Constitution, which assigns the Audit Bureau responsibility for monitoring state revenues, expenditures and methods of spending.
He said the objectives of oversight go beyond verifying the legality of spending to include improving the efficiency of public fund management and protecting public resources from waste and misuse.
Nasrawin noted that the real impact of modernization depends on the effectiveness and results of oversight, the follow-up of findings and ensuring accountability for entities found to have committed financial or administrative violations.
He also emphasized the importance of the Senate and House of Representatives in discussing the bureau’s reports and following up on their findings, stressing that identifying violations is not enough unless it is followed by measures to address them, determine responsibilities and establish the resulting legal and administrative consequences.
The bureau’s announced plans and experts’ assessments of their administrative and legal implications show that oversight transformation cannot be measured solely by the sophistication of its tools, but by their ability to change practices and outcomes.
Advanced technology and data analysis may expand the bureau’s capacity to anticipate risks, but effective oversight will continue to depend on following up on findings, addressing weaknesses and strengthening accountability to ensure that institutional development translates into stronger protection and more efficient use of public funds.
The initiatives also show that the transformation extends beyond technology. The bureau’s software for following up on oversight findings, its broader focus in the annual report on issues of material significance and its exchange of expertise with regional oversight bodies all reflect an effort to improve the entire oversight cycle, including its follow-up mechanisms and outcomes.
Identifying and Managing Risks
Former Minister of Public Sector Development Maher Al-Madadheh said risk management has become “one of the fundamental pillars of management in general.”
He noted that properly identifying, managing and seriously addressing risks helps reduce losses and damage and ultimately prevent waste of public funds.
He described the bureau’s adoption of this approach to auditing and assessment as “an important development,” as it provides new mechanisms to limit the waste of public funds while using data analysis and modern software, including artificial intelligence, to strengthen the bureau’s ability to monitor risks, analyze patterns in public fund management and track how resources are used more accurately.
He added that advances in auditing tools and methodologies require institutional capacity building within the bureau and the development of employees’ skills, enabling them to use new tools and perform oversight duties “with a high level of efficiency.”
In this context, Al-Madadheh said the memorandum of understanding with PwC forms part of the bureau’s efforts to develop its work, including strengthening auditing and risk-management methodologies and building the capabilities needed to keep pace with the transformation.
Al-Ma’aqbeh, for his part, said Jordan is undergoing a “genuine transformation in the system for overseeing public funds,” although the process remains at a stage of development and institution-building.
He said the shift from traditional auditing, which largely relies on post-event examination, toward risk-based and continuous auditing represents a move from corrective oversight to a more proactive model focused on identifying and forecasting risks and addressing them in a timely manner.
He said the use of data analysis and artificial intelligence could bring about a “qualitative shift in oversight work” by enabling the analysis of vast amounts of data, detecting unusual patterns and identifying high-risk transactions.
This would strengthen auditors’ ability to locate weaknesses with greater efficiency and accuracy.
Regarding cooperation with global professional institutions, Al-Ma’aqbeh said the partnership with PwC could contribute to developing auditing methodologies, building capacity and transferring expertise.
However, he stressed that its success “will not be measured by signing the memorandum itself,” but by its impact on actual practices, the quality of outputs and the capabilities of personnel.
He noted that the main challenge is not simply acquiring technology, but the ability of the oversight system to use it effectively.
“Artificial intelligence does not replace an auditor’s professional judgment; it strengthens it,” he said, adding that successful risk-based auditing requires reliable data, qualified professionals, integrated systems and a supportive institutional and legislative framework.
Al-Ma’aqbeh reiterated that the current stage represents the beginning of a strategic transformation in public funds oversight.
He said the importance of the next phase lies in turning new initiatives from mere updates to tools and methodologies into an intelligent and proactive oversight system capable of anticipating risks, reducing waste, improving the efficiency of public fund use and supporting decision-makers in a timely manner.
Strengthening Mechanisms to Protect Public Funds
Nasrawin said that “moving from traditional oversight, which identifies violations after they occur, to preventive oversight based on early detection of risks and reducing the likelihood of their occurrence” would strengthen mechanisms for protecting public funds and enhance the bureau’s ability to perform its duties more efficiently.
From a constitutional standpoint, Nasrawin explained that updating auditing tools and developing risk-management methodologies is consistent with Article 119 of the Constitution, which assigns the Audit Bureau responsibility for monitoring state revenues, expenditures and methods of spending.
He said this responsibility should not be viewed as being limited to verifying the legality of public spending. It also includes, within the broader objectives of oversight, improving the efficiency of public fund management and protecting resources from waste and misuse.
Against this backdrop, questions arise over whether modern technologies and professional partnerships, including the memorandum of understanding with PwC, can produce tangible changes in the oversight system rather than merely improving tools and procedures.
Nasrawin stressed that “more important than introducing modern technological tools into the oversight system is the extent to which these steps improve the effectiveness and results of oversight.”
He said the success of modernization should not be measured by adopting technology itself, but by its ability to improve oversight performance and produce practical results in protecting public funds.
He added that achieving this goal requires stronger mechanisms for following up on the bureau’s findings and ensuring accountability for entities found responsible for financial or administrative violations.
Identifying violations, regardless of how sophisticated the methods used to detect them may be, is not enough to ensure effective oversight unless it is followed by clear measures to address weaknesses, determine responsibilities and establish the resulting legal and administrative consequences.
In this regard, Nasrawin stressed that “financial oversight does not achieve its objectives simply by identifying violations, but by taking measures to address them and establish responsibility for them.”
This makes follow-up and accountability an essential part of the oversight system rather than a secondary stage following an audit.
He added that “the success of this transformation requires development to extend beyond updating auditing tools to strengthening the legal and institutional impact of oversight over public funds.”
Source: Al-Ghad
